Effect of growth hormone on fluoride balance

Abstract

Fluoride balances were determined in nine children, aged 4 to 18 years, undergoing treatment with human growth hormone. Urinary F was increased in 6 of the 9 subjects during the period of initial treatment. The hyperfluoruria occurred in the face of a preexisting negative F balance. Fecal F did not change, and since the magnitude of the hyperfluoruria could not be correlated with changes in renal function it is likely that it, together with the increases in Ca and hydroxyproline excretion, represents a direct effect of the hormone (or possibly “sulfation factor”) on bone resorption. During the control periods, the F balance data reveal that 10–90% of dietary F (all of which came from food) appeared in the feces; these values are generally higher than those reported for subjects whose intake was primarily from water.